Category Archives: Lifestyles
Sometimes animals are more human than people
Olivia Fowler
On The Way
By Olivia Fowler
An old friend was telling me about taking her 18-month-old grandson to the Asheboro Zoo in North Carolina. She said the giraffe family had a new baby, as did the gorilla family, and they were all enjoying the sunshine of a pleasant spring day.
The mama gorilla was asleep, holding her baby, when the daddy gorilla came out of his entrance and looked around. He left and soon returned with a bundle of hay, which he carried carefully out.
The spectators thought he was being very sweet in bringing hay out for the mama and the baby gorilla. That is until he spread the hay carefully onto the ground and then lay down on it and went to sleep.
What is Earth Day?
Earth Day
Founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues, Earth Day is now a globally celebrated holiday that is sometimes extended into Earth Week, a full seven days of events focused on green awareness.
The brainchild of Sen. Gaylord Nelson and inspired by the antiwar protests of the late 1960s, Earth Day was originally aimed at creating a mass environmental movement. It began as a “national teach-in on the environment” and was held on April 22 to maximize the number of students that could be reached on university campuses.
A buck for the ages
By Jim Shupe
For the Courier
Outfitter Bob O’Connell and I had been after this legendary buck for days. He was rarely seen, and bedded up in heavy cover for most of the day. Bob’s guides would get glimpses of him from time to time, but the reclusive buck was much too wary to move during daylight hours.
For two days I had been hunting over a water hole and game trails through heavy cover. Although I had seen some really good bucks, the one they called “Stickers” was in a class by himself. He was reported to have more than 60 points and an inside spread of more than 30 inches, which is pretty unheard of for a whitetail buck.
The morning of day three found my guide and I sitting over yet another game trail that meandered through a thicket of pine scrub and small brush. We watched a huge eight-point feed on acorns, and I was sorely tempted to take this buck, but visions of Stickers kept me focused on my quest for the elusive giant.
Caution: turkey hunting can be highly addictive
Turkey Hunting
By Dennis Chastain
For The Courier
They ought to put warning labels on turkey calls, three-inch magnum shotgun shells and spring-pattern camouflage. Turkey hunting can be highly addictive — even more addictive than chocolate kisses, boiled peanuts or Krispy Kreme doughnuts. As few as one trip into the spring woods in pursuit of the Eastern Wild Turkey can lead to a lifelong addiction.
Turkey season is here
Turkey Season is here!
By John Garner
For The Courier
Another year has come and gone. The seemingly long winter is coming to an end, and the weather is finally turning. It’s time for the trees to start blooming, the grass to start growing and for people to start stirring.
But for the outdoorsman, there is also a big event on the horizon, and that’s turkey season! Nothing brings in the spring like the start of turkey season.
This year brings with it many changes from last season, socially and politically, but the one thing that remains the same for the outdoorsman is the start of the spring turkey season.
Don’t let allergies keep you indoors
Pharmacist Todd Morris of The Corner Drug in Pickens says many people who come into the pharmacy during springtime need allergy medication, although they ask for cough and cold medicine. Emily Wright/Courier
By Olivia Fowler
Courier Staff
If you suffer from allergies every spring, you are not alone. More and more people seem to have the same problem.
Pharmacist Todd Morris of The Corner Drug in Pickens says pollen is likely the culprit.
“During the last three to four years, pollen counts have been astronomical,” Morris said. “We have had people coming in with allergies who have never been bothered with it before.”
Incredible insects
Incredible Insects
By Scott Stegenga
For the Courier
Early spring is a major transition time in nature. As the days lengthen and warm up, new life begins to emerge and stir everywhere.
One of the most notable changes is the increase in insect activity. Insects exist by the trillions. If we had a dollar for every insect in our country, our national debt would be wiped out with money to spare!
When one door closes…
Nicole Daughhetee
Life As I Know It
By Nicole Daughhetee
During the January SDPC Board meeting, when the issue of removing student-led prayer prior to the meetings was first approached publically, hundreds of people turned out in a show of support for maintaining the current policy.
Apparently there were so many people that I was upbraided by a concerned citizen for not properly “guesstimating” the number.
The February meeting drew another large crowd — still in the hundreds — of people who came to speak and support the district’s then-current student-led invocation policy. Standing-room-only is how I would describe the scene in the board room that night.
The adventures of Red Dog
Olivia Fowler
On the Way
By Olivia Fowler
Red Dog lives a life full of adventure and challenges. He is constantly pulled between his view of his responsibilities on Fowler Farm and his wish to obey and please Fowler.
He sticks to Fowler like glue and follows him everywhere he goes, whether invited or not. When the first furrows are cut into the rich dirt on Fowler Farm, Red Dog walks behind the tractor, making sure the rows are straight and investigating any interesting things turned up with the dirt.
What does ‘Easter’ mean?
Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the central event of the Christian faith: the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his death by crucifixion. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul even goes so far to say that if Jesus Christ had not been resurrected then the Christian faith is worthless and futile.
Without Easter there is essentially no Christianity.
While it is a religious-based holiday, the name Easter is rooted, or has linguistic meaning rooted in non-Biblical history and events.
For example, the origins of the word “Easter” are not certain, but the name is most probably derived from Estre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. The German word Ostern has the same derivation, but most other languages follow the Greek term used by the early Christians: pascha, from the Hebrew pesach (Passover).
In Latin, Easter is Festa Paschalia (plural because it is a seven-day feast), which became the basis for the French Pâques, the Italian Pasqua, and the Spanish Pascua. Also related are the Scottish Pask, the Dutch Paschen, the Danish Paaske, and the Swedish Pask.
